Today A44 Games released an extended gameplay showcase of its upcoming "Souls-Lite RPG" Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn, showing off its mechanics.
Following a quick introduction on the story showing how the Gods and their army of undead have invaded the world and the Coalition army is trying to fight them off without much success, we move on to the gameplay itself.
We start with a look at the caravan, that can be established at key locations. It will grow as you recruit other Coalition members to help you, with each member unlocking crafting abilities and additional quests.
We then get an explanation of what the developers call "Souls-lite" which blends Souls-like gameplay elements with fluid traversal.
The player can use melee weapons, the titular flintlock pistols, and secondary black powder ranged weapons. Melee attacks restore black powder charges for the flintlock pistols.
Interestingly, secondary black powder weapons won't be reloaded automatically, but you'll actually have to nail a timing minigame every time you try. Their charges can only be replenished by resting.
You also have grenades of different types that provide another tactical option and can be replenished by resting, but you can increase the maximum number you can carry by finding them in the world.
Enemies can glow red when they prepare to use a break attack that can't be parried and will leave you vulnerable if it hits, but you can interrupt it with your flintlock pistol leaving the enemy vulnerable instead. Regular attacks can be parried and that will leave them open to a follow-up.
Enemies have a Prime bar on top of their heads, and when it fills, you can perform a glory kill to instantly defeat the weaker enemies and strip the armor from more powerful ones.
The protagonist's partner Enki's attacks can fill the Prime bar faster and he can also curse enemies with the Curse of Death, allowing normal attacks to fill the bar as well. Different curses can be equipped on Enki, applying other status effects.
As the bond with Enki grows, he'll be able to equip magical attacks named Whiterings, which results in devastating combo attacks.
Enemy types include armored and shielded enemies, which will require different tactics to defeat.
You don't use gold to trade in the game, but reputation, that can be spent to acquire items and the services of crafters.
You can build reputation with combat and there is a multiplier that can be built up by weaving together multiple different moves, basically rewarding the player for stylish fighting. Taking damage causes you to lose both the multiplayer and the additional reputation it created. You can bank your reputation at any time resetting the multiplier to 0.
You will find hamlets in the world, and killing the boss of the enemy forces that overrun each hamlet will cause its population to return. At that point, you can visit the Coffee Shop and interact with its host, which will give you an additional healing flask as a reward on top of selling cosmetic items.
Hosts also offer rumors that are the starting point of sidequests which grant experience and unique inventory items. Exploring off the main path even outside of quests will let you find challenging enemies and additional rewards.
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn will release in the Summer of 2024 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (via Steam and Epic Games Store). If you so wish, you can pre-order a physical copy on Amazon.
If you'd like to read and see more about the game, we have a preview from 2022 and another gameplay video focusing on combat.
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